OTTAWA -- On the night of last year's infamous televised showdown between Julian Fantino and angry veterans, one of those sent in ahead of time to smooth the way was Erin O'Toole, the man who on Monday took over the troubled portfolio.

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait — Canadian soldiers, sailors and aviators camped in the desert near Iraq will celebrate a midnight Christmas mass where they will be told the joyous story of how Christ was born near where they are now confronting jihadists of Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS.

HALIFAX -- Marijuana remains the drug of choice for members of the Canadian army, based on the Force's latest blind drug testing report that also found cocaine is gaining popularity among some members.

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait — The fighter pilot commanding Canadian warplanes bombing Islamic State targets in Iraq says the coalition air campaign that the Royal Canadian Air Force is part of has made such progress that the Iraqi government was now in a position to decide when was the best time for its forces to begin trying to regain territory it lost earlier this year.

Ottawa police announced Saturday that they had arrested and charged an alleged soldier impostor, seen speaking on national television during last week’s monumental Remembrance Day ceremonies, with four criminal offences relating to impersonating an officer.

Question: For how much longer can the federal Conservatives shamble along with a national defence and procurement posture that is disjointed, underfunded, poorly understood, chronically secretive and increasingly, obviously unequal to the challenges at hand?
This week at the G20 in Brisbane, Australia, Prime Minister Stephen Harper will wax combative about the growing list of strategic and security brushfires faced by the global club of pluralistic democracies, of which Canada purports to be an important member.